Entry of Leading Industrial Automation Suppliers Boosts Credibility of Edge Implementations
Industrial IT organizations are pushing enterprise architectures to the edge, moving processing intelligence closer to the target devices, assets, and processes. The data sought by edge and cloud-based solutions resides in the logic, process, and motion controllers marketed by the traditional industrial automation (IA) suppliers, who as a group were late to edge compute relative to IT players, hyperscalers, and ISVs. Introduction of Digital Transformation at the industrial IoT edge solutions by IA providers, typically large players with deep domain knowledge, lends credibility to edge computing among customers who wish to remain with known suppliers who have supported their applications and know their business.
Early industrial IoT edge implementations tended to emphasize an infrastructure orientation focused on orchestration, virtualization, and similar cloud-native characteristics. The real value at the edge, however, lies in applications and typically domain-specific use cases, as these are the means of achieving desired business outcomes.
Industrial Automation Providers Partnering, Investing in Edge Infrastructure
The supply side of the industrial IoT edge is populated with numerous alliances between different categories of providers. Complementary ecosystem partners may provide cloud compute, store, and other horizontal infrastructure services, connectivity, protocol conversion, security, compatible or alternative device platforms, and/or solutions that are complementary to specific use cases.
Most prominent among these emerging alliances at the edge are relationships between IoT infrastructure suppliers, such as ZEDEDA and Red Hat, and automation suppliers focused on specific use cases that reflect both their legacy domain expertise and an emphasis on adding incremental value, typically via analytics. These relationships often involve equity positions through participation in early funding rounds.
ARC Market Intelligence on Digital Transformation at the Industrial IoT Edge
Founded in 1986, ARC Advisory Group is the leading technology research and advisory firm for industry, infrastructure, and cities. We provide extensive market coverage of all aspects of the industrial IoT edge, ranging from edge and cloud software platforms to network infrastructure and endpoint devices. Strategic issues covered include:
- What is and will be the role of the edge in the digital transformation of industry and cities?
- How are automation suppliers using the edge to accelerate digital transformation objectives?
- How will adoption of edge-native architectures impact traditional industrial automation?
- How to leverage cloud benefits while using the edge to maintain operational integrity?
- How do the roles of thick versus thin edge devices compare, and how does that impact selection requirements?
- How should edge hardware and software suppliers differentiate themselves?
- How will the increasing emphasis on subscriptions sales impact the market?
Industrial IoT Research Topics
ARC covers a broad spectrum of topics related to the Industrial Internet of Things. Global Market Research is available for each of the topics below. Technology Selection Guides are also available for several of the topics below.
Industrial IoT Edge Compute Software Platforms
- Market data and scope: region, industry, new vs. retrofit, platform execution environment, application execution environment, revenue type, customer type, sales channel, customer size
- Market Research
Industrial IoT Gateways and Routers
- Market data and scope: units, average selling price, revenue type, region, industry, new vs. retrofit, network type, CPU, OS, application execution environment, use in edge computing, form factor, environmental rating, IEC 61850-3, EN 50155, Class 1 Division 2, ATEX, sales channel, customer type
- Market Research
Industrial Cellular Routers - Update Q3 2023
- Market data and scope: Cellular technology, public vs. private, fixed vs. mobile, CPU/OS, edge-to-cloud integration, use in edge compute, form factor, hazardous/environmental
- Market Research
- Technology Selection Guide
Industrial Ethernet Switches - Update Q3 2023
- Market data and scope: Switch type, media type, bandwidth, TSN, SPE, APL, PoE, protocols, form factor
- Market Research
- Technology Selection Guide
Industrial and Outdoor Wireless Access Points - Update Q4 2023
- Market data and scope: new vs. retrofit, fixed vs. mobile, form factor, Wi-Fi standard, environmental
- Market Research
Wireless Devices in Process Automation
- Market data and scope: process automation endpoint devices
- Market Research
IoT Cloud Application Platforms
- 市场数据和范围:软件vs. services, industry, geography, customer
- Market Research
Industrial/OT Cybersecurity
- Market data and scope: anomalies, breach detection, endpoint security
- Market Research: Anomaly and Breach Detection
- Market Research: Endpoint Protection
- Technology Selection Guide
Industrial PCs
- Market data and scope: edge computing, gateway, HMI, logic control, vision
- Market Research
Industrial Private Networks (5G & 4G)
- Market Data and Scope: region, network type, hardware vs. software vs. services, network deployment
- Market Research
